Chapter 628 Orphans (7200)

The continent of Aean, the Southern City-State Union, the industrial mobile city of Avend.

In the dead of night, the Holy Sun had set, and the crimson light of the Demon Moon shone upon the earth through layers of dark clouds, like the eyes of a bloodthirsty giant opening in the darkness.

Unlike the quiet residential areas around the core city, the industrial zone in the lower city area on the city's edge was still noisy. Workers in two shifts were like fuel, filling themselves into the bellies of those behemoths, allowing them to rumble and spew out black smoke that could cover the entire mobile city.

Every city has an industrial area; after all, every mobile city must have at least a basic level of industry that can maintain itself.

Of course, self-maintenance alone is not enough. If the city encounters any accidents while traveling, the basic industry will not be able to carry out comprehensive repairs.

Therefore, any large mobile city has a complete industrial system. Only small mobile city-states need to travel to large cities every few years for maintenance and inspection, repair damage, and conduct large-scale exchanges and trade.

There are even some mobile cities that specialize in providing maintenance and inspection services to other cities.

The industrial city of Avend is such a mobile city. It travels in the south of the Asmodeus Empire, back and forth between the South Ridge Mining Area and the southern coast, in order to obtain sufficient industrial raw materials.

During this process, a large number of small mobile city-states will gravitate towards it, like iron filings attracted by a magnet.

Boom, boom. In the factory, intense source energy fluctuations were transmitted, its power surpassing the full attack of a Xin Guang realm (Heart Light realm) transcendent.

This is not surprising. As the foundation of the source energy industry, the energy level of a large source energy furnace core far exceeds that of an ordinary Xin Guang stage. The source energy fluctuations it emits can even change the weather on a small scale. Without reasonable protection, this level of source energy radiation is enough to cause all the people working in it to suffer from Demonization disease.

The super-giant source energy furnace core at the heart of a large mobile city, enough to drive a mountain, is even said to be able to trigger man-made natural disasters, and the shield it maintains can withstand the invasion of natural disasters for a period of time.

Therefore, in the world of Aean, workers are a highly respected and high-end profession: their daily work is to protect the city's lifeblood, so they must master certain source energy skills, be able to protect themselves from source energy radiation, and their salaries are not low.

A skilled senior worker, or engineer, even if not a professional, can be compared in status to a knight.

But this only applies to 'formal workers'.

Industrial cities need so many positions that it is impossible for everyone to be a respected worker or mechanic. The city cannot afford the salaries and benefits, and not all work in the factory requires professional workers to do it.

Therefore, positions such as 'temporary workers' have emerged.

Temporary workers do not need much skill, or even much education. It doesn't matter if they can't read a few words. They only need to assemble molds on the assembly line, or do some physical labor such as carrying things—this kind of work is the majority, so that the wretches in the slums, the farmers from the farms, can become temporary workers in the fastest time when needed.

Because of this, the salary is meager and they are heavily exploited.

Most of them have to get up early to work, and only return in the evening. Although the night shift workers are a little easier, they are more dangerous: the light of the Demon Moon will stimulate the activity of source energy, making it easier for workers in the factory to become infected with Demonization disease.

But what does it matter? The average age of workers cannot even exceed forty years old. Before the Demonization disease breaks out and worsens, they will die.

And whether they are infected or not, the factory owners will squeeze out their last bit of strength.

"Cough cough..."

Under the dim light, a soft cough came. A boy dressed plainly, even shabbily, slowly walked out of the factory side door.

Seneca had short brown hair. He was blind in his left eye, and the physical mutation brought about by Demonization disease caused half of the boy's face to appear petrified. But the remaining half of his face was still considered handsome, and even had a kind of incomplete beauty because of the petrified left face.

Especially that right eye, with the gemstone color of ice green, and even seemed to faintly glow in the depths of his eyes.

Because of the Demonization disease, Seneca's vision was enhanced, allowing him to see the flaws in unqualified products at a glance, so he was hired as a quality inspector.

Most Demonized people have abilities that ordinary people do not have. As long as they are not in the late stages of Demonization, it is not difficult to find a job in a related profession. Although they have to endure discrimination and exclusion, it is better than not being able to survive.

The night shift had ended, and Seneca was now preparing to leave the factory and return to the orphanage to rest.

There were more than thirty orphans of all sizes in the Hope Light Orphanage. Several old women were hired to take care of them. Professor Svetleyer alone bore the expenses on weekdays. Although it was hard, it was still bearable.

But recently, in order to raise war funds, the Empire has increased various heavy taxes on various places, and the orphanage has also been apportioned a large sum of taxes. Even the always calm Professor Svetleyer has turned a few strands of hair white, not knowing what to do.

"Think of a way, there will always be a way."

Facing the children's worried inquiries, the old professor always comforted them like this, but the older children knew that the tax of 90,000 Imperial coins was not something that could be solved by just thinking of a way.

In fact, this is unreasonable. Even a fool knows that an orphanage cannot squeeze out so much money. Such a high tax is just to destroy this place.

You must know that earning 10,000 to 20,000 Imperial coins a year is considered a high salary in major mobile cities. If it is a farmer in a fixed village, a surplus of more than 500 a year is considered a good year.

Many ordinary people cannot earn 90,000 in their entire lives.

But the professor still used all his connections to find a way. He pieced together, and urgently completed the commission, temporarily raising over 20,000, but this was still far from enough.

Until he accepted a mysterious mission from a wandering knight and received a deposit of 40,000 Imperial coins.

With this deposit, and the money he had raised before, Professor Svetleyer temporarily sent away the tax officials of the tax department, proving that he did have the ability to pay, and then took two apprentices to the northwest mountains.

And this trip lasted for two months.

Although before leaving, the professor left a sum of money as the orphanage's daily expenses, accidents are always more than expected. As the weather turned cooler, several children in the orphanage fell ill and needed medicine. The funds left by the professor were obviously not enough.

Therefore, as the older child in the orphanage, Seneca took the lead in going to the factory to work and earn money to buy medicine.

"...Alas, my source energy talent is too poor, otherwise there would be no need for the two children, Little Loya and Gasha, to accompany the professor to suffer."

Softly sighing, the brown-haired, green-eyed boy couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "We are dragging the professor down."

Working at Master Banner's factory is hard, but the wages are paid daily, and the night shift also provides a free dinner. Although he is very stingy like other factory owners and squeezes the labor of workers, he at least gives the wages that should be given, and does not always delay payment.

This is already considered rare and conscientious compared to other factory owners in the entire city who not only squeeze workers but also delay payment in various ways—although it is a bit ridiculous to say the word conscience in relation to a factory owner, at least there is some dark conscience.

It would be even better if there were no psychologically twisted worker colleagues.

Pa.

On the way, a stone flew from not far away and hit the boy's shoulder, causing him to stagger and almost fall.

A burst of rude laughter came from behind him, and all kinds of dirty and obscene insults and sarcasm came towards Seneca.

"Stinky brat, how dare you say that my work is unqualified?"

"Demonized people get out!"

"What kind of shitty quality inspector is helping the factory owner squeeze us? Go to the cemetery to find your parents sooner!"

"Ass-selling stinky brat, [Aean expletive]!"

That was a group of people who were more like street punks than workers.

They occasionally came to the factory to work, mixed in a few days of drinking money, and then wandered on the streets. When the money was spent, they continued to work. There were a lot of people like this.

Fixed skilled workers are rare because of the particularity of source energy skills. Every factory is vying for them.

That is the nature of the work of quality inspectors. These temporary workers who made mistakes are unwilling to admit their mistakes, and dare not vent their anger on the factory owners who punish them, so they hate the quality inspectors in turn, because it is he who pointed out their mistakes.

And the identity of a Demonization disease patient is a catalyst, allowing these hooligans to openly and justifiably bully the other party.

"..."

Rubbing his shoulder, Seneca didn't speak. He just took a deep look at those hooligans, and then silently continued to walk forward.

"What the hell, you dare to glare at me? I'll find a chance to dig out your eyes!"

They were shouting fiercely, but those hooligans did not dare to go forward.

Demonization disease is contagious. Although doing a good job of protection will greatly reduce the chance of infection, as long as the Demonized person fights desperately, general protection is meaningless.

Bullying a marginalized person is just that, but really risking becoming a Demonized person themselves... Hooligans are not stupid, they don't do meaningless things.

But a Demonized person... or rather, an orphan without parents or support, who wants to live with dignity in this world, has to face not only such soft and powerless malice.

"Little Seneca, are you still trying to run today?"

After the boy got rid of the hooligans and came to the slum alley between the factory and the orphanage, Seneca, who was rushing on the road, was suddenly pushed in the chest, and his back hit the wall heavily.

"Cough cough..."

Immediately, Seneca, who was already in poor health, lowered his head and coughed violently, but before he could finish coughing, a rough hand held his shoulder, and the other hand pushed his chin, forcibly raising his face.

That was a tall man with obvious Demonized畸变 (jībiàn, distortion/mutation) on his left hand, growing thick armor. He was wearing leather armor, with a handmade source energy gun and short sword at his waist, dressed as an armed mercenary.

This guy with a beard, who seemed to have barbarian blood, seemed to have been waiting here for a long time. He looked at Seneca's still handsome face, despite the Demonization, and made a rough laugh.

"I said, if you want money, I can give it to you. Why bother going to the factory to earn hard-earned money?"

The man's heavy breathing and thick bad breath came, making Seneca want to vomit, and he couldn't help but turn his head away, but the other party forcibly turned his face back: "Spend a few nights with me, and I'll pay for the medicine for your little brothers and sisters."

As a fellow Demonized person, he was not afraid of infection at all—or rather, Seneca was afraid that the other party's more serious symptoms would resonate with his own.

"Maras, get out of here! You wouldn't dare to do this when the professor was here!"

He struggled desperately, but he couldn't escape the other party's hand—Maras was a veteran mercenary with Ling Hui realm (Spiritual Radiance realm) strength. He had been on the battlefield to suppress the peasant army in the Moras Plain, and had killed many people. He was not someone a fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy could break free from.

"Professor Svetleyer... Humph, if he can come back, of course I wouldn't dare. Who in the mercenary world dares to provoke a genuine alchemy professor? You wouldn't even know how you died."

Snorting coldly, easily suppressing Seneca's resistance, Maras's tone carried a subtle tone: "As for now... To be honest, I'm really helping you. Hope Light Orphanage is finished. If you follow me, you can still survive. Staying there is just waiting to die."

"Unless you want to be caught and go to the Simov Farm and mine to work to death—with your face, someone will still take a fancy to you at that time, but they may not be as 'reasonable' as I am."

"What..."

Seneca was not stupid. He could hear the mercenary's meaning: In Maras's channels, Professor Svetleyer had obviously had an accident, otherwise this always 'smart' mercenary would never have been so rude.

Sensing the weakening of the boy's struggle, Maras immediately smiled triumphantly. He greedily scanned the other party's pretty face: "You probably don't know, there was a natural disaster in the North Ionian Mountains, and there was also an earthquake. I checked, and it just so happened that the wandering knight took your dean there. Good heavens, several mountains collapsed."

"They are unlucky, they will die. Even if they are lucky enough to survive, they will not be able to pay the taxes before the New Year—compared to being sent to the farm, you come with me, and you have a better chance of surviving."

This news did shock the boy, causing him to stand still.

But just when Maras thought that the other party had been discouraged and decided to give up resisting, Seneca suddenly looked up, and a round of emerald light bloomed in his right eye, reflecting in the mercenary's eyes.

"You...?!"

Maras was taken aback. He originally thought that Seneca's Demonized ability was just good eyesight, and he had no other special abilities.

But this idea was obviously wrong. He immediately felt extremely tired, his body stiff, and then he fell to the ground on the spot and fell asleep.

"...The professor said that using my source energy ability will worsen my physical condition..."

Taking a few steps back, away from the mercenary's sleeping body, Seneca looked at the other party with a complex expression.

What Maras said was not false. The reason why he, who had been keeping the rules before, suddenly became bold was because the professor had an accident.

"If the professor really had an accident..."

Thinking like this, the boy's heart sank, but he had no other choice.

It is not shameful to live by any means, but if he follows Maras, who will tell this news to the other children in the orphanage? And how to save more people?

Without hesitation, he got up and took a step, ignoring the severe pain in his right eye caused by using the source energy ability, and ran towards the orphanage in the night.

In the depths of the darkness.

There were two pairs of eyes watching all this.

"Is it Human Immobilization Technique, or Sleep Spell? This Demonized ability is good, very useful for infiltration operations."

"But in the final analysis, he is a Demonized person... Do we still need to continue monitoring? It's clear that Major Yelena has been killed in action, and this mission has failed."

"The superiors haven't given the order yet, so let's just watch... It's a pity, such a young child, in my hometown they would just be starting to enjoy their youth."

"Heh, where did you get the sympathy to use on a Demonized person? A group of little devils and orphans infected with Demonization disease, I don't know what disease that professor had, to find himself such a big pile of troublesome burdens."

Simple communication proved their identity as the Third Army Group.

They watched everything indifferently, not caring what would happen to the children in the Hope Light Orphanage.

If Professor Svetleyer accepted the recruitment and came back, he would be their superior, and they might take care of them for his sake, but now that the mission has failed, they naturally don't bother to care.

As for these bullying...

What does the life and death of a slum orphan have to do with them?

"Cough cough cough..."

The dawn was about to break, and Seneca staggered through the intricate streets of the lower city slum. The sounds full of life gradually came from both sides of the street. Most people were about to wake up. He took advantage of this chaotic time to return to the orphanage as quickly as possible.

Just as Maras said, most of the children in the Hope Light Orphanage were Demonization disease patients. This was not something that Professor Svetleyer deliberately sought out, but orphans without parents were easily infected by chaotic source energy without protection.

Because of this, except for Professor Svetleyer, no ordinary people dared to contact these children; but similarly, thanks to this, during the time that Professor Svetleyer left, not many people dared to approach this orphanage.

Soon, after Seneca, the older child who went out to work and earn money for medicine, returned and told everyone the news that the professor might have had an accident, the entire orphanage was in a commotion for a while.

But with the help of Aunt Daria, a kind old woman who was invited by the professor to help take care of them, the children who had experienced the coldness of human relationships calmed down.

Aunt Daria once had a child, but he died early due to Demonization disease. She estimated that she would not live for a few more years, so after Professor Svetleyer invited her, she simply came to take care of these children who were also infected with Demonization disease.

When the professor was not there, this aunt took care of everyone.

But after calming down, they realized how bad things were.

Several children went out to buy (or even steal) the newspapers of the past few days. The newspapers did record that there was a natural disaster in the North Ionian Mountains, resulting in earthquakes and landslides—the place where it happened was exactly where the ruins that the professor was going to excavate were located.

This bad news greatly hit everyone's confidence.

Without the professor, no matter how hard the orphans tried to support themselves, they would be nothing more than hollow reeds that would break with a single fold. Several children who were already ill could not withstand the toss. Not to mention being sent to the farm to work, they would die from a high fever in just a few days without medicine.

"Isabella and Avro are about to give out. The money that brother left last time is only enough to buy one dose of medicine. They all said to give it to the younger Kselina to drink..."

"Big brother, we are too conspicuous to escape... If we really want to run, you should run alone!"

"Is the dean really dead... Wuwuwu..."

Listening to the children's voices rising and falling, Seneca also felt a headache. He knew very well that since even mercenaries like Maras had started to make advances, it meant that other people who should know about this had already known.

If he didn't take everyone away as soon as possible, the ending of the entire Hope Light Orphanage would definitely be extremely miserable... even beyond their imagination.

But unfortunately, Seneca realized it too late.

Just when he was planning to sell the furniture in the orphanage, and some alchemy equipment left by the professor to exchange for money to buy medicine, and then take people to escape to the depths of the lower city.

The tax officials of Avend City had already arrived.

Just as all tax officials are the most core and powerful armed forces of the local lord, so are the tax officials of Avend City. He wore a suit of heavy armor, with a source energy gun of the same style as the military at his waist. His head was completely covered by a helmet, and the whole person was like a tin can.

"Hope Light Orphanage, right... Prepare to pay the taxes."

This steel giant, weighing at least half a ton, stood at the entrance of the orphanage, flipping through the records in his hand, his tone indifferent: "94,000 Imperial coins are due, 67,000 Imperial coins have been paid, and 27,000 Imperial coins still need to be paid."

"Take it out now."

Unlike mercenaries like Maras, tax officials are the direct embodiment of the noble's violent will and ruling authority. Not to mention that Seneca's Demonized ability has no effect on people wearing helmets, even if it did, he would not dare to attack the other party.

Therefore, the boy, who had worked hard all night and hadn't slept yet, could only straighten his chest and cheer up to greet him: "Tax official, didn't you say that this tax is due in January next year? Why now..."

But a cold voice interrupted his words: "What, you still want to delay?"

Even if his eyes were hidden behind the helmet, Seneca could still feel the contempt and impatience in the tax official's cold words: "You Demonized scum, do you really think you can afford the taxes? Or do you think that you have no money now, but you can conjure up money in two or three months?"

The steel giant looked down condescendingly, he chuckled and glanced around the entire orphanage, mocking: "To tell you the truth, your Professor Master is already dead—who knows how that alchemy professor valued you little Demonized things, no chest, no ass."

"A good master, as a result, he lives so frugally because of taking you in, it's simply a problem with his brain."

Speaking of this, the tax official lowered his head to look at Seneca, he said thoughtfully: "Well, but big shots do have some inexplicable hobbies... Hahaha, anyway, he's already dead, you have no way to pay the taxes."

Undisguised laughter rang out, but he quickly returned to his original indifference. Wherever the tax official's gaze swept, all the children couldn't help but take a few steps back. Only Aunt Daria walked forward angrily, like a hen protecting her eggs, protecting the trembling children behind her.

But he didn't care, just shook his head: "Don't think too much, the men go to the mines to mine and earn money earlier, and they can contribute to Earl Avend earlier."

"As for the women, well, there are so many sick ones? Then they can only be disposed of, so as not to spread the infection... It's really a cheap life."

Evaluating arbitrarily, the tax official enjoyed the feeling of having the life and death of others in his hands.

But he felt a trace of cold threat.

No, it's not just a trace.

Almost all the children were staring at him with eyes full of deep-seated hatred.

In that instant, the tax official suddenly remembered the origins of these children.

They were all orphans that Professor Svetleyer picked up from the wilderness in various places four years ago, during the great drought and famine in the southern city-states...

Most of the timid and cowardly children died at the very beginning of the famine, and were eaten as food.

And the children who can survive, no matter how harmless they look on the surface, no matter how weak... they are also the people who can survive the famine chaos, until Professor Svetleyer picks them up!

"Hum... I'll let it go today."

With a quick change of mind, the tax official turned his head decisively—he also knew very well that things couldn't be forced too much, after all, these people were children, or little children with Demonization disease. If they really got angry, they wouldn't be as rational as adults.

Especially if he accidentally got infected with Demonization disease, it would be a big loss.

Thinking so in his heart, the tax official thought cautiously: "Tomorrow, bring a team over... I said long ago, Demonized people should not be allowed to enter the city, they are too dangerous, even children are."

However, just as he was about to leave.

An emergency notification suddenly came from the communication magic circle built into the armor.

【Attention all units, enter B-level alert status.】

"What's going on?"

The tax official was stunned for a moment, he didn't understand why this alert status was initiated: "B-level alert... Could it be that a rebel army is going to attack the city?"

But soon, the next notification answered his doubts: 【Sentries have observed that in the northwest direction, there is a very dilapidated mobile battleship approaching us at a very abnormal speed!】

【Earl Master has ordered that he wants that battleship.】

At the same time.

Indeed, it was dilapidated and old, I am afraid that there were not many battleships in the entire world of Aean that were older than it.

"Is that your destination?"

The voice of the Half-Elf, Dawn, came, her tone carrying a trace of doubt: "It... this city, seems to have accumulated a lot of anger and hatred, these emotions are aimless... In addition to this, there is a very great malice targeting us."

"In the previous few epochs, I rarely saw such an accumulation of emotions." She commented.

"Yes, this is it."

Standing on the top of the research ship, the oncoming gale made the man's clothes flutter. Su Zhou stared at the city in front of him, as huge as a mountain, but carried on a man-made base. His eyes reflected the shadows of the city and the sky.

He saw that several smaller mobile city-states were connected to this city, like satellites guarding it, making it look magnificent and grand.

"I just want to take back those children."

But the man just shook his head faintly. He said indifferently: "Let them be, let them be with their malice, or whatever anger and hatred."

"I don't care."